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Published on 04/22/1996 All articles from this issue

In The Past...

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25 Years ago in the Town CrierAccording to the April 28, 1971 issue of the Town Crier, voters elected Jerald E. Rosenblum and Mrs. Shirley R. Bray to the Los Altos Elementary School Board in a double victory for the Citizen's Caucus, the organization which endorsed and vigorously supported them. They replaced Darrell Wallace and H. Rodney Peery, incumbents who did not seek re-election.A storm on April 16, 1971 dropped almost an inch of rain on Big Basin State Park, but failed to discourage the more than 800 trail builders participating in the third annual Trail Days event.The trail building, co-sponsored by the Santa Cruz Mountain Trail Association, the Sempervirens Fund and the Sierra Club, spread out over many miles of trails. One important stretch that led from Saratoga Gap to Oil Creek Gap along the old Toll Road was brushed out and reconstructed by Los Altos Boy Scout Troop 39.The other groups working on trails included Los Altos Girl Scout Troops 594 and 477 and Cadette Troop 30. The local Lancers YMCA group and the Campfire Girls also worked on trails. Laura Kerner was selected as the April 1971 "Spotlight on Youth" choice, sponsored by the Los Altos Junior Women's Club. A junior at Mountain View High School, she had an ambitious goal, majoring in nuclear medicine, an outgrowth of her participation in the work experience-medical exploratory program at El Camino Hospital.Laura was also active in school government, was a cheerleader and a member of the Pep Club. 50 years ago in the Los Altos NewsThe April 25, 1946 issue of the Los Altos News noted that 10 enterprising Mariner Girl Scouts bicycled to Carmel from the summit of the Santa Cruz Highway and spent five days of their Easter vacation as guests of Mrs. Katherine Brigs, former Los Altan and a sponsor of the Girl Scout movement.Highlights of the week were watching Greer Garson at work in a new picture and being entertained by Coast Guardsmen at the Point Sur lighthouse.The Philip Case home on La Verne Way was publicized in the April 1946 issue of the Sunset Magazine, with two full pages devoted to its construction and description.The Case residence was unique because it was only partially finished and served as a perfect example of the magazine's suggestion of one solution to the shortage of building materials, i.e., build half a house with plans to finish when conditions were more nearly normal. Another suggested solution to the housing shortage was the Quonset hut which had proved so efficient for servicemen during the war. The example shown was 20 by 36 feet and had a living room, dining room, kitchen, two bedrooms and a bathroom. A hut cost around $1,000; transforming into a five-room dwelling cost about $1,700 more. ­Researched by Ellen Shaw of the Los Altos History House Association